The new poll, "Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism" has just been released.

The WIN-Gallup International ‘Religiosity and Atheism Index’ which measures global self-perceptions on beliefs is based on interviews with more than 50,000 men and women selected from 57 countries across the globe in five continents. The survey also provides trend data for shifts in attitudes since 2005.

2. One in 20 Americans now call themselves atheists, a fivefold increase from the last time the survey was taken in 2005.

3. The Religion News Service reports that just 60 percent of Americans now identify as religious, down from 73 percent the last time the Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism poll was taken seven years ago

4. Average religiosity in the 57 countries included in the poll was 59 percent, a decline of 9 points since 2005, it said.

5. At the same time, the number of people declaring themselves to be convinced atheists rose from 4 percent worldwide in 2005 to 7 percent this year. (Note: Actually, the poll shows a global average for atheism at 13 percent. The 7 percent figure is taken only from countries that were also surveyed in 2005.)

6. China has the highest proportion of atheists at 47%

7. People in bottom income groups are 17% more religious than those in top income groups.

8. College educated are 16% less religious than those without secondary education.

9. TRENDS SINCE 2005: Religiosity drops by 9%, while atheism rises by 3%.

10. Among ten countries with a notable decline in religiosity since 2005, reports in USA declined from 73% to 60%, Canada from 58% to 46%.

In reference to the increase of "out" atheists in the U.S.--from one percent to five percent over a seven-year period--I found this encouraging:

Quote:The seven years between the polls is notable because 2005 saw the publication of "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris, the first in a wave of best-selling books on atheism by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and other so-called "New Atheists."

"The obvious implication is that this is a manifestation of the New Atheism movement," said Ryan Cragun, a University of Tampa sociologist of religion who studies American and global atheism.

Still, Cragun does not believe the poll shows more people are becoming atheists, but rather that more people are willing to identify as atheists.

"For a very long time, religiosity has been a central characteristic of the American identity," he said. "But what this suggests is that is changing and people are feeling less inclined to identify as religious to comply with what it means to be a good person in the U.S."

Religious disputes are like arguments in a madhouse over which inmate really is Napoleon.

I think you have to be very careful with these types of studies.
You can easily fall into seeing what you want to see.
There are very well educated and very wealthy people who are religious.
If the implications here are true that would not be possible.
Just because large data sets show a correlation that does not mean that "smarter" and "more educated" people will choose atheism.
Correlation is not Causation.

The old gods are dead, let's invent some new ones before something really bad happens.

Firebrands on both sides of the god debate assume that people hold religious beliefs as a result of indoctrination and ideology, when it looks more likely that we just hold these beliefs as superficial opinions which help us to manage anxiety. When we grow up in secure living conditions, we generally lose interest in religion even when we face no obstacles to studying religious doctrines and practicing religious rituals. The decline of religiosity has happened in a big swath of the world for economic and political reasons, not because secular humanists won a propaganda war over religionists.

It's good to be optimistic. Don't go counting on people to evolve to a higher state of rational thought any time soon.
We do have the religious killing each other at a faster pace as of late, while atheists sit back and watch from the side lines.

The old gods are dead, let's invent some new ones before something really bad happens.